A Hitachiin Plan Never Goes Awry
by RaeRurounifan
Summary: Hikaru was shocked when she didn't believe he was serious. So he made a plan to show her; besides, Hitachiin plans never go awry, right? Only with Haruhi around... Hikaru never knew what hit him til he planned to get her.


_A/N: I promised myself I would write a HikaHaru, and here it is. It's not the best work I've done, but it's been bugging me, so perhaps now I can concentrate on some of my other stories. Please enjoy! _

_Disclaimer: Nothing owned, nothing earned. Entertainment purposes only. Thanks!_

**A Hitachiin Plan Never Goes Awry**

**By: Rae**

-An "Ouran High School Host Club" Fanfic-

They didn't start like most couples. But then again, they weren't most people. Fujioka Haruhi was one of the most unusual girls at Ouran Academy, and that _wasn't_ because she was stuck pretending to be a boy. Though that might have had something to do with why it took him so long to get to her. It also didn't help that she didn't have the same ideas about relationships that most girls had nor did she seem to care about the differences between the genders.

No, it took a failed date, a few months of serious contemplation, one blinding realization, and a question. In that order. Because it wasn't the fact that Haruhi was blind, it was that she didn't realize he was serious. And that was just the challenge he needed to prove to her he was incredibly serious.

"Haruhi?" He asked as he walked into the back room with a stack of dirty dishes after an afternoon of entertaining ladies in the host club. She glanced at him and nodded to indicate she was listening. "Do you realize we never actually got to enjoy our date?"

Haruhi stared at him unblinking for a moment and then turned back to the dish in her hand. She scrubbed at the spotless plate for a few seconds before saying, "I'm not sure I understand, Hikaru. Did you not have fun?"

"Oh, sure," he replied easily, leaning slightly out the doorway to check and see that no one was headed their way, "but it wasn't _our_ date. Not really. Kaoru forced me to come out with you."

"And he was playing at being sick the whole time," Haruhi remarked blandly, not looking up from the cup she was rinsing.

Hikaru's eyes widened and he asked, "He wasn't sick?" She shook her head. "You're serious?" Now she nodded. "How could he-he wouldn't! That's ridiculous! Why would he-"

"He did it cause you were in such a bad mood about Arai-kun," she answered him without allowing him to finish the question.

"Well, that's just stupid." Hikaru was now thoroughly disgruntled, leaning back against the doorway and glaring out at his twin who was chatting amicably with Tamaki and the cousins.

"It is what it is," Haruhi responded, not seeming to notice that he didn't need a response to that particular comment. "He wanted you to make up with me."

Hikaru thought about that for a minute and then said, "It doesn't matter anyway. I think you owe me a date, Haruhi."

She finally turned to look at him, and he grinned at her, turning on the charm as she asked, "And why do you think that?" Her raised eyebrow and slightly puzzled expression were adorable, and he wanted to take her away from the suds and head for a nice restaurant where he could explain things better.

"Look at it this way, Haruhi," he said, carefully phrasing what he had rehearsed the night before, "I never got the chance to date you because of Kaoru. He really made it hard on me because I had no time to plan or even consider going on a date with you. So truly you need to give me a chance to take you on a real date. It's only fair."

Smirking at her, he winked when she put a sudsy hand on her hips. He suppressed the laugh that built up inside him when she put her other hand on her chin and scratched it mildly, heedless of the suds it left behind. Hikaru was silently begging her to say yes, watching her eyes with his own and scared when she locked gazes with him.

Something in his expression must have given her pause because her own impassive gaze softened. He didn't even know how he knew it, but he did. She softened, and he knew, just knew, she was going to accept. Hikaru was ready to break out the band and do a celebratory dance around the Third Music Room.

"No, I don't think I do," she finally said, shocking him into silence.

"You-you don't? Well, why not?" He asked, half exasperated and half disappointed.

"Kaoru asked me on that date, not you," she answered, not giving him anything more than that particular answer.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

She glanced at him, her eyes narrowed as though to say he should be able to figure it out himself, and Hikaru grunted, annoyed. Before she could do much more than turn around to her dishes, he whirled in the doorway and stomped away, making sure not to look back to see if she was watching him. He would have been disappointed anyway; she turned back to her work almost immediately.

The next few days passed in companionable silence amongst the rest of the host club, but the tension was palpable between Hikaru and Haruhi. She, of course, was rather dense to the agitation the twin felt, but various attempts to question him on it by the others were all met with utter resistance and sheer, stubborn pride. He would not allow any of them the pleasure of seeing him rejected by Haruhi. But something wasn't right.

He continued to pester her for answers to what her cryptic comment had meant, but she refused him. However he felt her watching him on occasion, in the host club room, and when he turned to look at her, she would turn away swiftly. Hikaru was at a loss. It wasn't until the middle of the next week that he figured out the answer.

He tossed and turned in bed that night, dreaming of her words and how she had refused him at every turn. His dream turned nightmarish, and Hikaru found himself in an endless Third Music Room with Haruhi walking out the door, tossing out those words at him offhandedly like she had before. _"Kaoru asked me on that date, not you."_ And he tried to catch her, to argue with her, to stop her, but she walked out the door, and he couldn't seem to get across the room to the door before it closed.

When he awoke, panting and clutching at the sheets in a panic, Hikaru thought about the dream and what it could have meant. Something struck him then, something he hadn't considered before. And as he mulled it over, he realized what she meant by those words. That was when he began to plan, and as most people know, a Hitachiin plan never goes awry.

The next day he put his plan into motion, walking into the club room after classes purposefully. Haruhi noticed something was different but didn't remark on it, nor did his brother, who had been examining him carefully lately. Hikaru didn't care either way; he was on a mission and would not be stopped.

After the club broke up for the day, he walked into the back room, much like he had the week before, and dropped off a set of dirty dishes for the busy girl. Haruhi nodded to him when he entered and continued scrubbing at a particularly nasty spot on one of the dishes. Hikaru smirked a bit before walking closer and leaning over her shoulder.

"Haruhi?" He asked, again like before, but this time she ceased all movements, not even turning her head to meet his where it almost rested on her shoulder. "Would you like to go on a date with me? I'd be honored if you'd say yes."

He stepped back after having made his inquiry, giving her room to think, speak, accept or reject him. She turned to him, eyes on his, and then said, "You figured it out." He nodded, and she shook her head at him. "You still don't understand."

Hikaru was dumbfounded. Was she rejecting him again? He didn't understand, that was the truth, but what did he not understand? "What do you mean, Haruhi?"

She turned to her dishes once more, unwilling to look him in the eyes as she said, "You don't just ask a girl out for fun. I know you're used to playing with the girls' hearts in the host club, but you don't go on a date with a girl and treat her like you do those other girls. It's just not right."

Hikaru stood, arms straight at his side, fists clenched. She didn't believe him! Haruhi didn't think he was serious about her! "Haruhi, you're being silly," he began, trying to explain to her that he was serious about her.

"A girl can't just be another one of your toys," she interjected, scrubbing furiously at a sparklingly clean cup. "I'm not a toy that you can play with for a while and just throw away once you're bored. It doesn't work like that. Even if you think you can ask a girl out and not have any repercussions, you can't."

Hikaru mentally counted to ten, trying to release the anger he suddenly felt, and he pursed his lips in contemplation. "So you don't think I'm serious?" He asked, eyes narrowed at the back of her head. He didn't wait for an answer. "Fine. I'll just have to prove to you that I am."

Again he whirled around, this time uncaring if she watched him or not, and he stormed out of the room, ignoring the stares of the others who thought he was acting most strangely indeed. This time, she turned to watch him from her dripping dishes. But Hikaru did not turn.

Another week passed, and the tension was nearly as unpalatable as before. Hikaru brooded around the house and among his friends, and even Kaoru couldn't convince his twin to open up. He silently believed it had something to do with Hikaru's newfound obsession with the diminutive host, but he didn't know how right he was.

By the following Friday, Hikaru was ready, plan in place, roses in hand. He arrived at the doorstep of the Fujioka residence at noon, determined to give Haruhi a day to remember and hopefully win her affection. Knocking on the door, Hikaru was unprepared for the response. Thirty minutes later he leaned against the railing of the complex, utterly exhausted from knocking and annoyed that no one answered. He'd called her cell, but it was predictably turned off. Now he wasn't sure what to do. So he settled on sitting down to wait for her to come home from wherever she was.

When Haruhi arrived that evening, she found a dozing Hikaru sprawled awkwardly against her doorstep. Her eyes grew huge as she walked up to him and noted the roses that lay on the ground next to him. She noted the nice outfit he wore and felt slightly ashamed for him, but then she reminded herself that he only saw her as a toy, and she felt bolstered by this reminder.

She was about to nudge him awake when she noticed the card under the roses. Pulling it out, she saw her name written in his crisp handwriting on the front of it. She opened it and pulled out a notecard with a sakura tree and several hearts around it on the front. She shook her head at the sentiment expressed and opened it to reveal a blank card with a few short sentences written by the boy laying in front of her.

_"Haruhi, I'm not good at all of this romantic crap when you get right down to it. I just do what Tamaki tells us to do and make the girls happy, but they're all really stupid. At least, they're all stupid in comparison with you. I want to do this right, but you don't believe me. So I thought I'd try roses. Girls like roses, right? _

_"Even if you don't like me, I want to try dating you. I know you're not a toy, and I wouldn't want you to be. (Then I'd have to share you with Kaoru, and I don't think I could do that.) I planned a nice day out for us if you'll just give it a shot. You don't even have to come the whole time if you don't want to. But you'll miss the ootoro if you do. Would you please come out with me today? I'd like to try it and see what happens._

_Hikaru" _

It wasn't until she read the bit about Kaoru that Haruhi really began to believe it wasn't another joke. She knew Hikaru always shared his toys with his brother, and she couldn't rest knowing she would just be another shared toy between the two of them. Thinking about it, she realized she had enjoyed her time with him on their impromptu date from before. Now she looked down at her sleeping classmate and wondered if she could have something with him.

Realizing it was getting late, she leaned down to wake him up. He jolted into awareness when she gripped his shoulder, and Haruhi found herself pulled into his lap without any conscious effort on either of their parts.

Hikaru shook his head hard when he woke up from his nap. He was holding something soft, and whatever it was was moving. Looking up from the awkward angle in which he was laying, he saw with some surprise that Haruhi was sprawled in his lap, hands on his chest to balance herself. She looked just as shocked as he was feeling, and he wondered how this had happened.

He sat up, groaning and stretching out stiff joints, and only then realized where he was and why he was so sore. A blush bloomed on his cheeks at the thought that he'd actually fallen asleep waiting for her to get home. He quickly helped Haruhi to her feet and then stood himself.

"Um... hi," he said lamely, looking at his feet where he noticed the roses. He stooped down to pick them up but couldn't find the card that went with them. He returned to a standing position and held them up to her when he saw the card in her hands. "Oh, you, uh, found that, did you? Well, I guess you must have read it by now. I'm just going to-oh, these are for you, by the way." Hikaru's voice trailed off at the last, and he thrust the flowers into her hands. Looking back down at his feet again, he didn't see the smile she gave him.

Haruhi watched him intently, wondering how he would handle this particular embarrassment. He seemed spooked for some reason. "Hikaru?" She asked, mimicking his questions from the past few weeks. He refused to look at her. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you arrived. I was out shopping."

He glanced up and noticed the bags on her arms and realized he had shoved the heavy bouquet of roses into her hands on top of the weight of her groceries. Feeling like a heel, he quickly took the keys from her hands when she pulled them from her pocket and unlocked and opened the door, gesturing for her to enter first. Haruhi did, looking bemusedly at him as she went, and then she walked into the kitchen after plopping her shoes by the door. Hikaru followed her.

"If I had known you were coming, I would have told you I had plans for today," she said amicably. "I hope you haven't waited long." She looked him in the eyes as she said this and saw the telltale blush coming to rest on his cheeks again. "Oh Hikaru," she sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"

He grinned ruefully, trying to cool his heated cheeks. "I guess you're just going to have to go out with me," he replied, barely keeping the hope out of his voice.

Haruhi sighed again and then turned, holding the card in her hands. "You were serious?" She asked him, indicating the card. He nodded. "Then, yes, I will go out with you, Hikaru. But just this once," she added before he could grow too excited.

Hikaru's eyes lit up, and he glanced at the clock over her head. Suddenly he whipped his phone out of the pocket and made a call, ordering someone to get there immediately. Grabbing Haruhi by the arm, he propelled her into her room, saying, "Get dressed quickly! If we hurry, we can make it to get dinner!"

Haruhi laughed as he pulled her door closed behind him and left her to get dressed. She vaguely heard him call through the door "Wear a dress! I know you have one!" Pulling out a baby blue dress with short sleeves and a v-neck cut, she pulled it on quickly and then grabbed a pair of shelled sandals that always reminded her of the ocean. Walking out the door, she found Hikaru waiting for her at the door. She slipped on the shoes and grabbed the small purse she carried, locking the door behind them as they left.

When they arrived at their location, Haruhi was shocked to enter a rather quiet, nondescript restaurant, much like those near her home. She glanced at Hikaru quizzically before following him inside where her breath was stolen from her. The small shop was plain on the outside and anything but on the inside. Beautiful paintings, mostly of the sea and sailing ships, hung on the walls. A large lobster tank stood just inside the door, and Haruhi smiled at the doomed crustaceans. The tables were made of a dark cherry wood and had cream colored plates to match.

Everyone inside was dressed comfortably, though, and Haruhi was surprised by that. She could tell this was a more expensive place to eat, but somehow it was friendly and open. The ambience was something she enjoyed thoroughly as Hikaru spoke with the host, who quickly took them to a secluded table.

It appeared Hikaru had thought of everything, including the ootoro appetizer that was brought out with their drinks. Haruhi had never tasted anything quite so delicious. In fact, she was sure this was some of the best seafood she'd ever seen. Dinner was crab legs with a side of roasted vegetables and noodles. Haruhi eagerly cracked the crab legs and dipped the succulent meat into the butter provided. It was a dream to have such tender crab, cooked to perfection and easy to crack. The vegetables were fresh and delicious as were the noodles.

For dessert, Hikaru had a special treat that Haruhi especially appreciated. It was a delicacy imported from Italy, he told her, when the yellow treat arrived. A puff pastry filled with a lemon meringue cream and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Haruhi's eyes widened when she saw the small dessert. The meringue, she learned, was a mixture of lemon juice and cream sauce that had just a hint of limoncello, an Italian liquor known for its sweet intoxication. Haruhi's first bite was enough to make her want to scarf the entire pastry down, but she refrained, taking little bite after little bite and thoroughly enjoying the special dessert.

Were it not for Hikaru's ability to pull a laugh, the entire evening might have fallen flat, but Haruhi was left laughing in between bites of food, chuckling through dessert, and clutching her sides as he helped her into the limo. She chatted easily with him, all tension now gone from both of them, and Hikaru dared to hope for more. So he instructed his driver to take them to a nearby amusement park, not something Haruhi expected.

They arrived, and the two got tickets and entered. The park was only open another two hours, and Haruhi felt the tickets were a waste of money, but Hikaru urged her on. They climbed into the ferris wheel together and when it swung high into the air, Hikaru jokingly remarked that Tamaki would have fallen out. He made her laugh when he did an imitation of the host club king's antics and then continued their conversation as the ride continued to circle, slowly coming to a stop to let them back out.

The night continued, and while Haruhi wasn't sure she could handle any roller coasters, she did allow Hikaru to coax her into riding the bumper cars. This they enjoyed so much they did it four more times, watching the cars to see which ones were the best. Haruhi concluded that the green and gold cars were by far better than the blue and red ones, and she favored the green 21 or the gold 11 as the best of those. They fought over who would get the best cars if they were available and chased one another around the ring, laughing uproariously when Haruhi got a particularly good hit in and nearly knocked Hikaru out of his car. She only winked and rode off, putting space between her and the twin out for revenge.

When they tired of the bumper cars, they moved to some other rides, making the most of the hour they had left. Before leaving, Hikaru bought Haruhi some popcorn that she began to eat, and he mockingly asked her if her stomach was an endless pit. This was cause for attack, which Haruhi did, throwing popcorn at him in the car and laughing when it stuck in his hair.

They continued their popcorn throwing match until Hikaru tired of the game and began tickling Haruhi. This lasted til the car made a sudden stop in front of her house and the two landed in the floorboards, aching with laughter. Hikaru helped her up and did not attempt to turn the moment to romance, just enjoying spending time with her. He walked her to the door and told her goodnight like any gentleman would and then left her as she began to open the door.

"Hikaru?" She asked him as he walked away. He turned to see her walking purposefully towards him. Before he could speak, she arrived and reached up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Thanks for a wonderful night," she told him softly, smiling a bit. Then she turned and went back to the apartment, this time opening the door and entering without turning back.

It was for this reason that Hikaru felt she would respond well to another date. If the date had gone badly in the first place, that would have been cause for alarm, but she kissed him on the cheek at the end of it. And that had to mean something. So he set out to woo the hostess who seemed to impenetrable, and the very next week he asked her out again. Haruhi was quick to point out that he already had the date he set out for, so why did he need another? But Hikaru was ready for this.

"You weren't there when I arrived, so I didn't get to take you to all the great places I wanted to go," he answered her cheekily, smirking at her for all he was worth. Haruhi couldn't refute his logic, and knowing he was serious about this, she teased him a bit more before accepting.

The second date was just as enchanting as the first, perhaps more so because Hikaru was able to plan this one out. But it was the third date that he saw as becoming the problem. He wasn't certain how to top the last date, and he also wasn't certain she would accept. Undoubtedly she would argue with him; she had the last two times, so how would he get her to come out with him again?

When he asked for another date, two weeks later, she gave him a knowing look and asked him how he could ask for another date when she'd already given him two good ones. Hikaru thought about this and remained silent for some moments. Haruhi's gaze never wavered, but she did look a bit expectant. He wished for some clever response to come to him, but nothing did.

Finally he said, "You've given me two amazing dates, Haruhi, and I want to go out with you again because I really like you."

Hikaru ducked his head, feeling ashamed at his words. He couldn't refute them because they were true, but he never expected to be so utterly unable to simply lie or charm someone. With Haruhi, the need to be transparent nearly overwhelmed the young man, and he had no escape except to simply mutter his feelings and hope she felt the same. Again studying his shoes, he dully noted that he seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. He waited for her to reject him.

"Thank you, Hikaru," he heard, and he raised his eyes fractionally, only to realize she was standing right in front of him. Looking into her eyes, he saw the raw honesty of her attraction to him, and it left him shocked. "Thank you for admitting it," she added when he gave her a puzzled look. "I would love to date you."

And that was how Hikaru learned of his feelings for the diminutive hostess who seemed to elude so many others. As the weeks passed, the two began dating more seriously, and even though Kaoru, Tamaki, and the rest of the hosts shared feelings of sadness, anger, and speculation, the couple grew closer. But Hikaru did learn one important lesson from his adventure in convincing Haruhi to date him.

Hitachiin plans never go awry... unless Haruhi is involved. And then they come out much, much better than planned.

-The End-

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_A/N: I see Hikaru as a very awkward character and somewhat difficult to write (for me, at least), so that explains some of his actions and words in this story. I know it wasn't as good as some of my others, but I was trying. I liked the idea, at the very least. I hope you all enjoyed, and please let me know what you think. I may try to write another HikaHaru story sometime in the future if I can ever get Hikaru's character down. Thanks for reading! _

_Until next time..._

_-Rae-_


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